Aspen Peak - Niche Media - Aspen living at its peak
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After a week and a half of ride-alongs, Kiss joined the swing shift. Every night takes him to a different part of the mountain, each with its own set of chal- lenges. Some slopes have 35- to 50-degree aspects, making each pass a balancing act and forcing Kiss to plant his feet against the glass windshield to stop himself from falling forward. Most of the guys he works with—and they are all guys—are skiers or snowboarders as committed as he, which doesn't surprise him. It's the unique per- spective of a skier, Kiss explains, that provides the necessary attention and respect for the grooming process and the desire to get it right. "Skiing is such a vision-related type of thing," he says. "You watch yourself in your head first—see it, plan it out, commit to it, and do it. As a groomer, when you're skiing, you're seeing all the stuff you did right or missed [the night before]. You get a different perspective, and it makes you a better groomer." After his shift, Kiss heads home, waxes his 185 cm Atomic Bent Chetlers, preps peanut butter sandwiches, packs his camera, and catches a few hours of sleep before driving his Subaru wagon back to the mountain in the morning. "If I can park at 1A, that's the dream right there—boom. Hit the lift." After that, it's every man for himself. When the ski day is over, work begins. At the beginning of each shift, Kiss and the other cat operators wait atop the mountain until they get the call from Aspen Patrol that the trails have been swept. "Being up on the mountain all the time means everything," he says. "It's such a peaceful experi- ence. It might be snowing all night, and I'll watch the snow build up and know what it will be like the next day when the mountain opens. Thoughts of skiing on the runs I'm grooming make the night go by quickly." As temps dip into single digits, Kiss is cozy in his cabin, fluid with the controls, Wu-Tang Clan or Metallica playing on the sound system. Most nights he takes a moment to watch the sun set from the top of Ruthie's Run, at close to 11,000 feet. "The sunsets that you see every night, they're pur- ple and red all the way down to Glenwood," he says. "We show up right at the perfect time. The whole view off the back is bright red, and it's awesome." AP PhotograPhy by Dan bayer/asPen snowmass (snowcats); scott markewitz/asPen snowmass (cat skiing, skiers); courtesy of brian kiss (kiss) First tracks on ajax Schussing down Ajax's freshly groomed cor- duroy is an almost religious experience. Doing so before the mountain offcially opens, with only a small group in tow, is such fun it almost seems criminal. And with a little luck from Mother Nature, those 8:15 am frst tracks will be waist-deep powder turns down all 3,267 verti- cal feet of the crown jewel of Aspen Skiing Company. The best part? First Tracks is free and offered on a frst-come, frst-served basis. Available during normal ski-season operating dates, November 26 through April 17, 2016. Friday Powder cat skiing Your knee-deep hosts during Aspen Mountain Powder Tours? The Nell's managing director, Simon Chen, and sales and marketing director, Pete Hayda. Guests meet at the Ski Concierge and board the Silver Queen Gondola at 8:15 am to greet the cat at the top of Ajax. Tours average 10 to 12 untracked runs on intermedi- ate to expert terrain, followed by a late lunch— paired with cuvée wines—and chair mas- sages at a wood stove–heated cabin. Fridays, December 15 through April 2, 2016. $465 (lift ticket included) per person; $400 per person if a group buys out the cat's 10 seats. For more information, contact The Little Nell Ski Concierge. 675 E. Durant Ave., 970-920-6315; thelittlenell.com snowcat academy If riding shotgun with one of Aspen Mountain's expert groomers isn't enough of a thrill ($100 for two people, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays through April 15, 2016), then up the ante with the inaugural year of the Snowcat Academy. Three-hour one- on-one or shared lessons for two inside the Prinoth "Bison 350" snow machine will have you laying down a pristine groom of your own on Buttermilk Mountain. Available throughout the ski season, November 26 through April 17, 2016, except the frst week and the two weeks surrounding X Games. Dedicated groomers, like 21-year-old Brian Kiss ( below), comb the mountain in their snowcats all night, every night (and after skiing all day), to prepare Aspen Mountain's freshly cut morning corduroy (bottom). Take a Turn! Experience fresh powder and freshly groomed trails first-hand with these three excursions courtesy of The Little Nell Ski Concierge. Every Friday, the Ski Concierge takes the Nell's snowcats into its own hands—and with 10 new friends. 52 ASPeNPeAk-MAGAzINe.CoM living The life 52 ASPeNPeAk-MAGAzINe.CoM